I am from IL originally and I still have a lease up there in Jefferson County. For gun season you have to put in the county you plan to hunt on the lottery app but most everyone wins the lottery. You can buy over the counter tags after the lottery in most counties. IL is best for bow hunters, Oct 1st until the Thursday before gun season is your best window. Once the first three day gun season starts those deer get spooked. Half the deer are harvested every year and 75% are taken before thanksgiving and there is hunting pressure like you have never seen in Texas. Half the deer herd is harvested and there is a 50% success rate in IL so statistically there may be as many hunters as deer in the woods. They grow big bucks, much bigger than TX but the opportunity is way lower. You can hunt with a revolver or single shot pistol that generates 500 ft lbs or more at the muzzle and is shorter than 1.4" case length. I use a bolt action slug gun, a muzzle loader and contender .44 mag. IL is nasty when it comes to your Constitutional rights so be very careful with transporting a loaded or even uncased unloaded gun.

Make sure your bow is cased while in the vehicle. I would try and get a hard copy of the regs sent to you, as well as read the on line regs....Good luck this year, we are pulling for you!

I hunt in Fulton County (Canton, IL area). The bucks are HUGE in Illinois. The hardest thing is to be able to judge antler size. The bodies can easily reach 300 lbs and the racks on those bucks will look small when actually they may be 170-180 inch range.

Also - practice longer shots than what you may take here in Texas. There is no baiting (feeders) allowed so you will typcially rattle in bucks to a cut corn field, food plot, CRP field etc. If you limit yourself to 30 yard shots you may cut out alot of chances. Get comfortable with 40-50 yard shots and you have a much better chance of bagging a nice one.

I am going up Nov 7-14. Prime time baby. Once you go you will go back every year. I love it.

Also, as mentioned above, make darn sure your bow is cased when traveling and leave all handguns at home - even if you have a CCL. An uncased bow is considered an illegal weapon. Illinois does not recognize the right to carry so do not get caught with any type of firearm in your vehicle.

But don't let the above sour you on Illinois - it is great hunting and you will never be happy with a 200 lb buck again.